Biplane left hanging as pupils help celebrate a century of flight in HK

Using schoolchildren to pull a replica 102-year-old aircraft to celebrate a century of flight in Hong Kong - while raising money for charity - must have seemed a good idea last year.

But while the record-breaking 'aircraft pull' will go ahead as planned this morning, the replica Farman biplane will not be among the four aircraft being tugged by more than 200 children and adults.

Instead, it will remain where it has been since 1998 - hanging from the roof of the main passenger terminal at Hong Kong International Airport.

The replica, which flew at Chek Lap Kok before the airport opened, was built to commemorate the first powered flight in Hong Kong by pioneer aviator Charles Van den Born in Sha Tin on March 18, 1911.

The Civil Aviation Department initially planned to use the aircraft - along with a Boeing 747-400 and two Airbus A330 commercial passenger planes borrowed from Cathay Pacific - for today's event. With four teams involved, the government hoped the 'mass pull' across 50 metres of concrete would make it into Guinness World Records.

But plans to use the wood-and-fabric Farman were scuppered because of the cost of moving the aircraft from the terminal, along with concerns about the weather. Instead, it has been replaced by a much more sturdy, metal Government Flying Services training aircraft, a Zlin Z242.